


Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Shaken Earth, Infinite Sea

by sudzoof



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27898399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sudzoof/pseuds/sudzoof
Summary: 50 years ago, the world barely survived a global catastrophe. In its wake, dungeons have become more erratic than ever, and the weather completely changes on a mere whim. With society adjusting to the new norm, The Sea of Wonders Habitation Squad is set to colonize a world left unseen for 50 years, uncovering mysteries of this world, and mysteries that do not wish to be uncovered.
Kudos: 2





	1. Clear Skies

The sunset was something Dewott never grew tired of.

The pink curtain of clouds against the gradient of the reddish-blue sky. The graceful descent of the sun as it welcomed itself into the orange, shimmering sea’s embrace. The calming sound of the tides crashing against the wooden hull of the _Albatross_. The cool flurry of wind flying past his face. All of it combined to form one serene scene in front of him.

Heh. Dewott knew he was getting sentimental over nothing, yet he just couldn’t look away. Just sitting at the helm, looking up towards the sky, a tinge of guilt weighted Dewott. Yes, he had express permission from their leader Maractus to be the main helmsman. Yes, he only volunteered himself when no one else would take the position. Yes, he was the Pokemon with the most experience sailing, through a personal hobby. By all means, he shouldn’t feel guilty. But having the sunset and the fresh air all to himself while everyone else was below deck felt wrong. 

He soaked in the mystifying atmosphere while he could. There was something about sitting around in the middle of the sea that called to him. Something… peaceful. That rare, serene quiet billowing against the wind was simply mesmerizing.

It wasn’t often that the atmosphere was anything close to resembling peace. After crashing wave after crashing wave, it was hard to find quiet moments to appreciate in the first place. Metaphorical waves, of course. And literal waves too. After that storm two days ago, Dewott wanted nothing to do with them. Barely controlling a rocking ship in the middle of ceaseless rain was as far from enjoyable as one could get. 

Those waves were long past, though. The storm of uncertainty had come and gone. He had a definite goal now, and he couldn’t let himself stray away from that path, despite the long road ahead.

“Yo, Dew.”

...And yet, that was one storm that rivaled the mightiest of winds. The fiercest tempests quivered at the sound of that dreaded voice. Dewott didn’t respond back; doing so would only hasten his slow, certain descent into madness.

“Hello? Earth to Dew? You in there?” Pachirisu pouted. “You know, you could at least _try_ to act like you’re listening.”

And with those words, Dewott’s impending doom was sealed. “Hey, can’t I at least have some peace while I still can? This is going to be the best the weather will be in… honestly, probably our entire time here. And you’re certainly not going to ruin this moment.”

“Well sorry to rain on your parade, but it’s going to pour soon.” Of course it was. Just couldn’t get a single hour of peace. “Speaking of that, catch.” Pachirisu tossed some sort of… yellow cloth at Dewott. With both of Dewott’s paws holding the _Albatross’s_ helm, the cloth naturally landed right on top of his face.

After shaking the cloak onto the helm, Dewott looked straight at Pachirisu. “And _what_ is this supposed to be?” Now that Dewott actually recognized Pachirisu’s existence, his eyes caught Pachirisu’s attire. Pachirisu was wearing the same cloak like the one he just tossed. Except smaller.

“Got it personally from Air’s ruin investigation team. You’d think that Decrepit Lab would have given up all its secrets by now, but we’ve still only scratched its surface. We exponentially find more and more by the second. Yeah, you’d get better at extracting data out of those old lugs of memory as you worked with them, but it’s honestly frightening how much was dug, and how much there still is to dig.” Pachirisu’s eyes lit up as he rambled on. “Getting back on topic though, you were asking about this thing?” Pachirsu raised a sleeve of the cloak. “It isn’t even all that recent of a development; we’ve known about this for like… a month now? Eh, it’s closer to a month and a half than a month flat. Production of this itself only just got past the testing phase, but guess who got us special privileges?”

Of course he had to get Pachirsu started on one of his rants. Get him on the wrong topic, and he’d stick on you harder than sand does fur. It didn’t help that he was waving the cloth right in front of his face too. “Come on, you know how significant this expedition is. They would’ve donated us whatever that is without your interference anyway. And you don’t need to drool all over the floor either. You’ve already convinced us ten times over that you’d eat all this flashy tech stuff three meals a day. And you still haven’t said anything about what this thing even is in the first place.”

“Well jeez, ya killjoy. No need to be so rude about it. I know everyone here _loves_ to hear me talk all about this tech”—Dewott rolled his eyes,—“but it’s actually important that you know how we even got some of this stuff. Like, all of the tech here, from the lights to even the kitchen, would’ve been the stuff of dreams a generation ago. Look at the sail even, we were only able to think of that when—” Dewott returned a cold stare. “On second thought, I understand that there’s that small part of you that doesn’t want to hear about it, and so I shall humbly respect your boundaries.” Dewott glared harder as Pachirisu’s smug grin looked cheekily at him. “But you’re going to use this stuff much more often, so better get used to it now.”

Dewott took a deep sigh. “Honestly, you could probably single-handedly cover for us and twice the world population when it comes to all of this technology stuff. And even _then_ be free to handle more. So since you’re more than capable of doing this by yourself, why don’t you just let the rest of us be.”

“Why, I ever so thank you for recognizing my capabilities”—Dewott hated how he twisted his words like that—“but getting back on topic, those guys reverse-engineered some of that data to make _this_.” Pachirisu held up an arm of his cloak. “The guys back at Air dubbed this a ‘parka’. Based on what the crew gathered, they were made by some weird chimera-like substance the Ancients called ‘rubber’. It was supposed to be ‘water-resistant’ from what the plans showed, but honestly, the makeup was a total mess. Way too needlessly complex. And it was unreliable at best.” Pride emerged from Pachirisu’s tone. “Considering that humans themselves made the place, you’d think that they’d think of a smarter solution. Leavanny silk is cheaper, more available, and does the whole ‘water prevention’ thing better than that mess ever could.”

“Really? Humans? You believe those myths? Aren’t you supposed to be the sciency person around here?” Dewott wore a disappointed smile. “Somehow you’re even more out there than I thought already.”

Pachirisu laughed. “Ignore all the fun mystery in front of you and you’re just going to be a bore. You certainly aren’t going to be much fun to talk to if you keep that up.”

“I could say the same thing to you.”

“ _Sure_.” Pachirisu rolled his eyes.

A small pause followed. Proceed by a long silence. Only the crashing of the waves and the staggering of the ship broke the inaudible uncomfortableness. Both parties stared at each other awkwardly, Pachirisu leaning against the boat, and Dewott standing at the helm, paws still covered under the yellow cloth Pachirisu left him. Dewott could see the sun standing still on the horizon line.

And of course, Pachirisu broke the silence in the most awkward way possible. “So, uh, Dew. When are you going to put it on? That downpour could happen any minute now.”

“Y-You’re kidding me. Don’t you see how restrictive this is?” Dewott held up the cloak in front of Pachirisu, keeping a spare hand on the helm. “I could barely move in this. And besides, I don’t even mind the rain at all. I’m a water type. In fact, I’d feel better right in the rain.”

“Sure. Tell me that after you’re all drenched. Have you forgotten that we’re right in the middle of the ocean? Island life out here is sure to be at least ten times worse than anything you’ve experienced in your life. Collectively.” Pachirisu shot Dewott a glare. “And besides, captain’s orders.”

The water type shivered. The elders told of a time when storms, blizzards, and blistering heat were awe-inspiring rarities. As far as Dewott knew, that was just a load of crap. On forgiving days, ceaseless showers of rain could span an entire continent. On unforgiving ones, hurricanes and tornadoes leveled towns unfortunate enough to be caught by surprise. The strongest Rain Dances and the fiercest Sunny Days could barely make a dent in influencing the sporadic weather. That unruliness was just a part of everyday life, a simple fact of nature that society tolerated and endured. It sucked, but that was how life was, and everyone dealt with it. For the weather to be even worse here though… Pachirisu was most definitely exaggerating, but he had a point. And besides, he couldn’t just oppose Maractus like that.

“Fine, I’ll put it on. Just don’t try anything funny.”

“What would I even do?” Dewott motioned towards the helm. “Oh yeah, that.” Pachirisu had a suspiciously smug grin. “C’mon, I’m not _that_ untrustworthy. Just don’t crash into the plainly obvious rocks. When was the last time I messed up something as simple as—”

“The time you overcooked dinner.”

“Well I don’t know about you, but I like my food crisply bur—”

“That time when you decided it was a funny idea to put a plush Joltik on Maractus’ bed.”

“Hey, she was feeling down and needed something to help distract fro—”

“Or how about yesterday, when you thought it was a great idea to start a blackout.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault the generator needed fixing—”

“Or this morning, when—”

“Ok, ok, I get it.” Pachirsu tiredly looked at Dewott. “Hey, come on. I’m serious this time.” Dewott skeptically looked at Pachirisu. “Yeah, I kinda, sorta, maybe mess up sometimes. But I know how important this is. I won’t screw it up.”

Dewott paused before forcing out a “Fine.” Instant regret flowed out of his voice. “Just go steady the helm.”Pachirisu stifled a smug smile.

Dewott hurriedly pulled the parka over his head. Better to not let Pachirisu have free reign for a second longer than he had to. He just had to put his arm there, align his head there, and then… No, that wasn’t correct. His head couldn’t even fit in the hole. Wait, why was his arm in the head hole?

Pachirisu looked on, gasping for breath in between his laughter

“Ahem. If you wouldn’t patronize me while I’m putting this thing on, that would be greatly appreciated.”

“Haha… Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.” Even though Pachirisu sounded like regained his composure, Dewott could still see his smug smile through the cloak. “You _sure_ you don’t need any help though?”

Dewott finally found the head hole and popped his head out. “Yes. I’m sure.” He reached for the helm. “Now give me back—”

"Nuh uh." Pachirisu stood between Dewott and the helm he wanted so desperately out of the squirrel's reach. "You've got a meeting to go to first!"

"Wha— since when?!"

"Since uh… now. Mac wanted to see you and Marshadow, and since I was already gonna nab you to give you that,"—Pachirisu pointed at the parka—"I told her I might as well tell you guys for her. Speaking about Marshadow… you have any clue where he is?"

“Somebody called?” A shadowy figure appeared from behind Pachirisu.

Dewott jumped back in surprise. Did Marshadow really have to do that? Yeah, having a Legendary on board was still jaw-dropping to even think about, but subconsciously looking behind his own back to make sure he wasn't going to be jumped on got tiring after at most the second time. “Gah! Could you give a little warning next time?! Jumping between us during a conversation isn't exactly the most polite way to get our attention."

"Well, you guys called for me. Don’t go asking for something you don’t want." Hold on. What was Marshadow even doing, taking Pachirisu’s words and shoving them in Dewott’s mouth? He wasn’t even apologetic about it either!

Thankfully, Dewott’s composure wasn’t the only one to crumble. Pachirisu cautiously started breathing again after a short break. "Well, uh, Mac looked like she really needed you guys, so how about you get going." Dewott and Marshadow looked on, dumbfounded, while Pachirisu stayed awkwardly silent. “You guys don’t want to incur her wrath, right?”

Despite the fact that Maractus’ “wrath” was less threatening than a lone Magikarp—Dewott could still feel the cold fish slapping against his warm, swelling face even then—Marshadow went along with Pachirisu's claim. “Nope. Definitely wouldn't want that.” And just as suddenly as he appeared, Marshadow slipped back into the shadows.

Pachirisu shot a grin at Dewott. "You know, I still can't believe the legendary Marshadow's here with us. You'd think someone of his stature would be too good to meddle with us lowly mortals or something." 

"Yes. Because I can truly feel all of his compassionate kindness oozing all over me."

"Hey, he's a professional. He's got that sort of charm." Despite only knowing him for a couple of days, Dewott was at least sure that he was anything but charming.

"So then"—Pachirisu’s grin widened—"how long are you just going to stand there? You aren't going to keep them waiting, right?"

Dewott grumbled. "I really, _really_ hate it when you've got an actual point."

"C'mon, you've already let me steer for this long." Pachirisu leaned back against the helm. "It'll only be for a little while."

Dewott pointed at the helm. "You're drifting to the left."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Pachirisu's tone was irritably nonchalant, but he practically punched the helm as he hastily regained control of it. "I-I wanted to turn left anyways."

Dewott face-pawed. “We’re screwed.” Dewott went down into the hull, praying to dear life that his certain death at the paws of Pachirisu’s negligence would be swift.


	2. Sea in Shrouds

Looking on towards the cabin, Marshadow had no clue what he was even feeling. Was he impressed? No; if it was merely that, then there wouldn’t be that lingering dread. And if it was just an existential solemness, then where was the small sense of pride coming from? Then, was it fearful awe? Yes, that sounded correct. Fearful awe.

Marhshadow walked around the cabin, eyes wide, combing his surroundings and admiring all of the new advancements. Every time he entered the cabin, the sensation felt as novel as the first. Small, warm yellow lights decorated the walls, strung together with copper wires. The lights were struggling to remain lit, flickering out one second and then dimly lighting up the next. 

The fizzing buzz was almost nostalgic. 

It reminded Marshadow of a distant past. A time when he quietly delved into the deepest depths of life. That time, however, was long gone. He revoked that life of quiet when he revealed himself to the rest of the world anyway. 

A part of him regretted that decision. Being swamped by a horde of Pokemon at the mere sight of his face was tiring the first time, but it only got worse the hundreds of times it happened later. Marshadow wouldn’t lie, finally encountering and interacting with society again put many of his worries at ease. But all of the newfound attention was certainly an… inconvenience. But that was neither here nor there.

The sinisterly welcoming candle-like glow only emphasized how small the ship really was. The clumps of straw the crew called beds had to be huddled in a secluded corner to make as much room as possible inside the crowded cabin. A generator hummed next to the cabin’s right side, fueling the lights around the room. To be perfectly honest, it was a generator in name only; it was more so a battery than anything else. Pachirsu fired electric bursts at it every so often, and it used that energy to power all the (admittedly low amount of) electronics in the ship. The kitchen was in the far corner, opposite the stairs to the deck. The petite coal stove with its iron exterior looked like some old relic. Granted, it probably was an ancient relic. But it definitely added to the homey feeling of the Albatross. 

Between the stove, the copper wires connecting the lights, and the generator powering them, it was a miracle that the boat hadn’t caught up in flames already. And yet, it had been ages since Marshadow felt so welcome by an environment’s sheer charisma, but it was pleasant seeing this sight for the past few days.

As Marshadow approached the meeting room, he only saw Maractus inside. Dewott was nowhere in sight. Marshadow stood in front of the doorway, bowing. “Captain.”  
Maractus weakly smiled. “I’ve told you before, no need for formalities. You can just call me Maractus. Honestly, I should be the one using honorifics with you.” Maractus looked up at Marshadow. “Mind if I call you ‘Sir?’”

Marshadow stood still, unsure of how to even answer. He glanced to the side. “Yes. I do mind.”

“Well then, how about I don’t call you ‘Sir’ if you don’t call me ‘Captain?’”

“Deal.”

A large table separated the two, with an unkempt stack of paper right on Maractus’ side. The only chair on her side of the table was the one she was sitting in, while three others lay opposite of her. Marshadow slid back one of them and sat in it. 

“Hey, are you doing alright?” Did Maractus really need to ask that? Of course he was alright. How would everyone else feel if he wasn’t? “Hey, if you don’t want to talk, you don’t want to talk. But even a Legend like you has to at least be a little stressed. The only other Pokemon who’ve traversed these waters had a death wish. This is the only official expedition here in over a generation. Nobody alive knows how much they’ve changed.” Maractus paused. “What am I even talking about? You’re probably the worst Pokemon here to discuss this with. But I can’t shake this intimidating sense of scale, you know? Surely I can’t be the only Pokemon getting this sense of foreboding awe.”

“I’m fine. This is nothing.” Maybe there was a small part of him worrying about all that. But that part of him was mostly insignificant. Besides, he wasn’t even stressed about the mission itself. He was supposed to be a Legendary. Everyone else didn’t know what the waters were like? It was his responsibility to know about it, to be able to protect the world from the unknown. Naturally, that was the entire reason he was on the ship in the first place, but he should’ve done this a long time ago.

With no more words capable of escaping their lips, Marshadow and Maractus silently stared at each other. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Dewott entering the room was their saving grace.

He subsequently tore off his parka, crumpled it into a ball, threw it at his bed behind him, and mumbled indecipherably. 

Dewott let out a deep sigh. “So then, what did you call us here for? This better be important.”

Maractus longingly looked into the distance. “Oh, this is important alright. We’re approaching the Sea of Wonders, so I want to debrief you before we arrive. We don’t have much time to prepare once we land, so we can’t afford to just dawdle around. But first of all, I want to make one thing clear. I need absolute dedication to researching the area and making it habitable. Once we’re there, I can’t have any reservations or second thoughts to slow us down.” She looked at the other two intensely. “If you want to back out, say so now.” The room was completely silent. “Well, that’s good,” Maractus joked with a faint smile. “Because I wasn’t going to turn this boat around whether you backed out or not.” Marshadow envied Maractus’ ability to switch tones from dead seriousness to lighthearted joking in the blink of an eye.

Maractus looked around the table, eyes on the rest of the group. The fourth chair was noticeably empty. “Why didn’t you call Pachirisu here?” Marshadow asked. “You don’t think he should have this information?”

“I actually talked to him before calling you here. Someone had to man the helm before I could talk to the rest of you, obviously. And the reverse would be more accurate. His brief was more so focused on establishing a signal. At this point, I don’t know how hard contacting HAPPI will be, but doing so is of utmost importance. You don’t really want me to bore you talking about radio for an hour straight, do you?” Marshadow and Dewott were dead silent.

Maractus put her Gadget on top of the table, facing it towards the other two. Marshadow always had a morbid fascination with them. At first, he didn’t think Pokemon would ever be capable of making technology this advanced. Honestly, it was as if society itself was determined to prove him wrong. Gadgets had maps, Mysteriosity charts, built-in radio, contacts and texting functionalities, and even somewhat accurate weather forecasts. They were invaluable for dungeoneering, but Marshadow saw even normal citizens using them like mad. 

That striking omen of awe returned.

Maractus snapped Marshadow out of his trance. “So right now, there’s one big, glaring problem. Look at the weather report for the Sea of Wonders.” Marshadow and Dewott leaned forward. “Notice anything wrong with it?”

“It says the weather is perfectly clear,” Dewott commented. As if on command, thunder rolled outside the ship right as he opened his mouth.

“Yeah. That’s the issue. This weather map is completely unreliable. The weather’s changed so rapidly over the years that the forecast has no idea what to even say. Zero tracking of the Sea of Wonders for five decades does that, and that’s been oh so helpful.” Maractus pointed to a thin, long island on the Gadget’s screen, right in the middle of an archipelago. “I don’t even know if this island still exists. It’s that bad.” Maractus deeply inhaled. “From tonight forward, we’ll need at least two people on deck at all times. I understand that we’re undermonned, but it’s what we need to do to ensure everyone's safety. We have no idea what kind of weather we’re going to be dealing with here.”

Marshadow looked at Maractus. “And I’m guessing that you didn’t call for an entire meeting just to tell us that our scouting schedules were being readjusted.”  
“I wish that’s all this meeting was.” Maractus sighed. “Take a look at this." Maractus swiped the Gadget's screen. Streams of light blue were superimposed onto the fading map.

Dewott was speechless. "Uh… You're sure the Gadget's working, right?"

Maractus chuckled to herself. "It would certainly be comforting if it was malfunctioning, wouldn't it. But yes, it's working at 100%. This is no joke."

Dewott continued staring. "How are they this thick? And this consistent? I thought pulsating ley lines were bad, but these can't even be called lines. They're just rivers."

Maractus sighed. "Yep. Just pure rivers of Mysteriosity.”

Marshadow remembered hearing rumors of Mysteriosity. It was what common Pokemon called the energy of ley lines. The backbone of dungeons, capable of warping the fundamental laws of nature itself. Capable of rendering all logic mute, it was no wonder Pokemon started calling the pockets they created ‘Mirages.’ Thankfully(or perhaps, regrettably), Marshadow never entered any dungeon as severe as the ones Pokemon usually talked about. All alone in the Eternal Ruins, he never had to deal with anything like that.

“Better brace yourself while you still can,” Maractus continued. “It’s… not looking great. There’s magnitude 4 waves all over the place, and I’m even detecting magnitudes of mysteriosity as high as 6. Mirages are going to appear in droves.”

“Well, good thing we're not there right now.” Dewott interjected. “We can just wait out this surge until it blows over. And besides, we’ve been training to deal with situations like this. It’s nothing we can’t handle if it lasts for a little while after we land.”

“I don’t think I made myself clear enough. It’s been constantly at this level. Everywhere in the Sea of Wonders. For the past 18 hours. Surges don’t just plateau like this.”

Marshadow could at least use the experience. He’d have to if he wanted any chance of being the Legend he was supposed to be. Analyzing the Mysteriosity levels was certainly invaluable, though. Knowing was half the battle, after all. Of course, the other half involved actually using that information to form a semblance of a strategy. “So what’s our plan then?”

Maractus sighed. “Well, if we have to trek through one, we could probably handle a magnitude 5 dungeon. Simply trying to avoid any dungeons we come across would be vastly more efficient, though.”

Dewott looked wistfully at the wall. “Dungeons that could tear us apart whenever they damn well pleased. Fun. At least we’re the only ones out here.”

Marshadow stared at him in response. “You say that like it’s a good thing. We have no other help. No one’s there to sweep in and save our asses. It’s just us.”

“You know, I doubt if tribalists are even down there. The entire area looks way too dangerous for them to survive.” Maractus took a deep breath. “Though, that begs the question of whether or not we can even make this place habitable.” Everyone looked downwards. A stifling silence swamped the room until Maractus suddenly jumped up. “Well, we can’t just sit here and complain about something we can’t control. What we have to do is make sure that we move quickly and confidently so that we can establish a location before we’re able to even worry about that!” Maractus’ tone was noticeably forced, though it was still somewhat infectious.

“Well, considering the new information, are there any changes to our plan once we find ground?” Marshadow asked.

“Finding the new ground itself would probably be the most immediate adjustment we’d have to make. We can’t walk over a potential death trap all willy-nilly. We have to ensure that where we land is actually safe. Afterwards, I guess we just search for a water source and somewhere high enough where we can build a stable shelter? Considering everything, we really can’t be picky about where to secure our base. Just make sure it isn’t in a flood zone or anywhere else that could pose as a safety concern.”

“Why can’t we use the boat as a shelter?” Dewott objected. “It should be safe enough inside here, so why are we risking it outside?”

Maractus looked at Dewott. “Did you forget the entire reason we’re here? We need to prove that it’s possible to live out here so that we can request this place’s colonization. Do that, get additional funding, and we’re out of here. And we’re not going to prove anything sitting around in a boat doing nothing.” Maractus paused. “And besides, even if we wanted to hole up here, we’d still need to secure fresh water.”

“Well great.” Dewott leaned back in his chair. “Absolutely amazing. Surely this couldn’t get any worse.” Listening to Dewott’s plea for damnation, a thud echoed across the room, coming from the deck above. Dewott nervously chuckled. “H-Hey, I was joking. You don’t need to make me eat my words, Fate.”

Marshadow shrugged. “It’s probably nothing. Just something that fell on the deck. This shaking is quite fierce, after all. Wouldn’t put it past gravity to give us a good scare.”

Despite the words of comfort, Maractus looked worried. “I hope you’re right. So next, we—”

An ear-shattering “CRASH” echoed across the air. Everyone yelled out of shock, though Maractus tried her best to remain calm after the fact. “We’re just in the middle of a storm! This is perfectly normal. Nothing out of the ordinary at all.”

The Gadget that Maractus left on the table suddenly started flashing red, a siren blasting into everyone’s ears. “That’s… the emergency signal, right?” Dewott cautiously asked.

Everyone sat still, silent. All at once, they scrambled out of their seats, rushing to the stairs to the deck. The wooden chairs were left haphazardly on their sides as the pounding of feet echoed in the room, the door to the outside was thrown open, and the raging rain was given leeway to trickle inside.


End file.
